Bellwood man not guilty in 2004 murder

August 27, 2009

Citing conflicting testimony from witnesses and a lack of sufficient evidence, a Cook County judge Thursday found a 22-year-old Bellwood man not guilty of a 2004 murder.

Roneal Nightengale had been in custody since Aug. 23, 2004, a day after Deriece Williams, 22, also of Bellwood, was killed in what witnesses said was an attempt to impress members of a gang he wanted to join.

Judge Thomas Tucker agreed, citing inconsistencies in the testimony and the lack of a murder weapon before finding Nightengale not guilty.

The inconsistencies included when the shots were fired and by whom.

Troyan Ames, a friend of Nightengale's, testified before Tucker that he and Nightengale, both 17 at the time, hatched a plan to lure a rival gang member out of his garage by sideswiping his car in the alley of the 1100 block of Rice Avenue in Bellwood. Once outside, Nightengale was supposed to shoot at the rival, Tom Kendall.

They carried out the plan although Ames plowed the car into the parked vehicle rather than sideswiping it and he had to run away. When the people in the garage came out Nightengale fired, but other shots were also heard immediately after, Ames said.

Kendall testified that he, a friend and his girlfriend, Deriece Williams, were in the garage when someone crashed into his 1970 LeMans parked outside. Kendall said he chased the person down the alley but lost him and then heard gunshots as he returned to his yard.

"Deriece fell like she tripped," Kendall said, choking up. "I ended up catching her as she fell. I caught her in my arms."

Williams, who had a child with Kendall, was shot once in the head and died. But the bullet that killed her did not come from the .357 Magnum recovered after a tip.

Both Ames and Kendall were in prison uniforms when they testified during the bench trial, which has been spread out over the summer.

Ames previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the shooting, and Kendall is in prison after being convicted on drug charges.